


Christmas Eve Will Find Me

by sweetnuisance



Series: Christmas Eve Will Find Me, Where the Love Light Gleams [1]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Charming Family (Once Upon a Time), Christmas Fluff, F/F, Fluff and Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-26
Updated: 2020-12-26
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:34:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28335471
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sweetnuisance/pseuds/sweetnuisance
Summary: Emma makes a delivery on Christmas Eve
Relationships: Evil Queen | Regina Mills/Emma Swan, Snow White | Mary Margaret Blanchard & Emma Swan
Series: Christmas Eve Will Find Me, Where the Love Light Gleams [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2078979
Comments: 2
Kudos: 47





	Christmas Eve Will Find Me

**Author's Note:**

> My progress on the final chapter of For The World We Know Can Be was interrupted by my impulsive idea to write my friends stories for Christmas, mostly because we're a bit scattered and it would mean I wouldn't have to try to fit presents in the post. Three of the requests fell into fandom and those friends have generously said they would be happy to share their presents with anyone who might want to read them here.

Emma stared in disbelief at the vast amount of discarded scraps of gaudy paper, stuck together bits of tape and unused bows and ribbons scattered across the dining table in the centre of the apartment. This along with the pile of wrapped presents stacked up beside the door led Emma to conclude (with her finely honed Sheriff powers of deduction) that Snow must have bought or made a gift for every single resident of Storybrooke. 

Snow had spent all evening wrapping the gifts after they got back to the apartment from dinner and that was on top of the couple of hours last night when the school teacher had shooed Emma, Henry and Charming off to Granny’s so she could be alone to wrap the family’s presents that now sat under their tree.

The tree itself was already overly decorated yet David and Henry were currently adding strings of popcorn around its tinselled branches, between digging out handfuls of freshly popped corn from a bowl at their feet. 

During the day Emma, David and Henry had all added their own contributions beneath the tree, every one of them displaying a clear family trait of using far more tape than necessary. Amongst the stack of brightly coloured and mismatched shaped boxes one clearly stood out from the rest with its sleek black wrapping paper and bold gold stripes, a thick silver ribbon looping around the sides tied at the top in an immaculate bow. A gift for Henry from Regina.

Emma had been more than a little surprised when Snow brought it home the day before. Her mom had only tutted at Emma’s obvious suspicion, telling her, “Regina asked me to take it and I promised we would give it to Henry first in the morning.” 

That Regina would have picked out a gift for Henry was not remarkable; that she had approached Snow White and spoken to her long enough and civilly enough to ask her to pass on a gift for their son, well that was surely a Christmas miracle worthy of some cheesy holiday movie.

Since Henry had been released from the hospital (since Emma’s breaking of the spell Regina had cast over the town) Emma had kept Henry with her. That meant the two of them sharing the small apartment with her newly found parents, and Henry using the couch as a bed. The place seemed smaller than ever and Emma promised herself that once they got through Christmas she would have find a proper place for her and Henry to live, at least somewhere where the poor kid got a room of his own again. Hopefully her mom and dad would still be so full of the spirit of Christmas she could safely broach the subject; Snow and Charming seemed as overly protective of Emma as she had become of Henry and she guessed a leaving home announcement might not go down great with them.

Emma swept some of the Hobby Barn debris to one side of the table making space for the Sheriff Department paperwork she had brought home despite Snow’s protests that it was Christmas Eve. She shuffled the papers in front of her but the printed words just swam on the page, mixing up with the lyrics of the carols blasting out of the crackly radio. Above the noise of the singing Snow was offering directions to the boys on where they should string the decorations and Henry’s delighted laughter joined in when Charming told him his grandmother was too bossy. 

The kitchen counter was still dusted with flour from Snow’s earlier baking and like the glitter from the wrapping paper and accessories it seemed to have spread from there to every corner of the apartment. Emma had transferred both to the papers, unintentionally decorating a report of speeding violations like you would a festive sugar cookie with sprinkles.

Even with the high ceilings the room was still too warm from the oven and the bitter-sweet chocolate scent of chocolate hung in the cloying air. Even when Emma could get the words to stay still on the page the twinkling fair lights hanging from the rafters and over the door frames made her vision hazy.

Suddenly it was all too much and Emma stood abruptly from the table. If Henry or her dad even noticed the far too loud scrape of her chair across the floorboards they ignored it. Snow though turned, leaning over the back of the couch and reaching out to put a hand on Emma’s arm when she passed close enough.

“Going out?” she asked.

“I just… need some air.”

“Wait.” For a moment Emma feared Snow might announce she was coming with her. As much as Emma loved getting to spend time with her family, getting to know Snow and Charming as her parents and not as Mary Margaret and David, right now she needed to be alone. 

Snow jumped up from the couch but passed Emma, heading to her curtained off bedroom. She was back within a minute and handed Emma a small parcel wrapped in blue paper dotted with sparking white snowflakes and a small gift-tag attached to its top. Emma wondered what had made this gift so special that Snow had been much more subtle than with her other efforts, and why it hadn’t joined the presents piled by the door. 

“Would you deliver this for me?”

“Err. Sure.”

Carefully eyeing up her mother Emma set the gift down on the table as she pulled her coat from the pegs at the door. She selected her fur lined black jacket and waited to hear Snow lecture her on needing a warmer coat or stopping her to shove a scarf or knitted gloves into her hands. But Snow had returned to the couch and her attention was back on Charming, who was now hefting Henry up onto his shoulders to reach the top of the tree. Even so Emma snatched up her grey knit hat before retrieving the parcel and heading out of the door.

As she marched across town with her head down, watching her boots and the white cloudy puffs her breath made in the cold night air, Emma found she wasn’t treading the course Snow had set for her as reluctantly as she’d expected. By the time she stood in front of the white-board fronted mansion house with the grey shutters framing each window it felt as though she’d been guided there by more than an errand.

The curtains were pulled closed over every window but two rooms showed the glow of lights turned on behind them which Emma took as sign that its occupant was home. When she reached the porch at the end of the straight path she thumped a closed fist against the wood, only after doing so realising it was a somewhat churlish gesture when she could have simply rang the bell. After waiting longer than she thought necessary Emma was considering doing just that when the door swung open away from her.

Regina had barely left the house since the curse broke and yet there she was dressed in a narrow black skirt that stopped just above her knee and a grey silk blouse as though she was getting ready to attend a meeting at the town hall. The only concession to comfort (as Emma considered it) Regina had made was not wearing heels, though she still wore black sheer stockings.

Oblivious to Emma’s appraisal of her outfit Regina asked, “Is Henry okay?” 

When Emma finally looked at Regina’s face the other woman’s eyes were dark. Emma could tell it wasn’t only the dim light outside that made them so but the fear of finding her rival and Henry’s co-parent on her doorstep on Christmas Eve. 

“He’s fine,” Emma quickly reassured her. 

Instantly Regina’s demeanour changed and she folded her arms across her chest defensively. Regina would usually do all she could to hide her emotions from Emma but right now bitterness radiated from her. “Then shouldn’t you be at home. With your family.”

“I…” Emma had no clue how to explain her presence to Regina, how to tell her that being at home had felt all too much and at the same time not enough. That something was missing and Emma didn't know enough about families and happy endings to unravel what that something might be. 

So instead she just raised her arms, offering up the gift she held between her hands. “This is for you,” she said. 

Regina’s brows furrowed in suspicion or confusion, maybe both. Emma looked at the gift again and licked her lips before saying, “Snow…” 

Regina’s hand had been reaching for the present but the moment Emma said her mom’s name the other woman hesitated with only a breath between her fingertips and one of the glittery snowflakes on the paper. For another moment Regina glared at Emma then she took the gift from her and with a resigned huff, flipped the star shaped tag over. Emma had already read it of course, at the bottom of the apartment stairs to find out just where Snow expected her to go:

“To Regina. Love from your Family.”

As Regina’s dark eyes scanned the elegant hand writing Emma watched a flicker of a smile cross her lips and was transfixed for a moment by the burgundy gloss of Regina’s lipstick.

When Emma’s eyes flicked back up to meet Regina’s the other woman’s expression was again impassive. “Thank you Miss Swan.” 

Emma nodded, accepting the conversation was over, and took a couple of steps backwards before turning to face the street. She knew she should just head back down the path; walk past Grannies with its flashing red and silver tree outside, the stores with their windows crammed full of tinsel and bundled up mannequins, past The Rabbit Hole and back to the apartment. To her family. To her home. 

Instead Emma found herself rooted to the spot, captured in the light of Regina’s open front door. On the ground before her both of their shadows were cast together, becoming one.

Emma spun around before she could change her mind, before she could make it up even. As Emma strode toward her Regina looked as though she were about to spit some sarcastic, cutting remark at her to push Emma away but the blonde pushed forward and pressed her lips to Regina’s. She closed her eyes a fraction of a second before they met and kept them closed, Regina still standing rigid in front of her. 

Then the air of immense annoyance Regina reserved only for Emma melted away and the Evil Queen without a kingdom was leaning into the kiss, into her. Unexpectedly Emma felt a hand grasp at her hair at the nape of her neck, keeping her from moving away (as if that would even cross Emma’s mind right now).

When it happened it was not the wave of magic it had been with Henry, not curse breaking. There was a light musical crackle and Emma’s eyelids fluttered open to purple-gold sparks bursting between them. As she and Regina locked eyes the sparks softened but remained, filling her vision and she assumed Regina’s too. 

Panting, Emma slowly backed away. She was relieved to discover Regina had released the tight grip she’d had of her hair and then surprised to realise the dark woman’s palm had come to rest flat against her collarbone above her wildly beating heart. Regina’s other arm hung limp at her side, still holding the present from Snow. When Emma moved back far enough that Regina’s hand dropped away from her the former mayor’s balance was shaken for a moment before she stepped back herself, retreating further into the doorway. 

Emma took a moment to simply enjoy Regina appearing utterly dumbstruck. The fingers of the hand that had held Emma so firmly were now flitting by the top buttons of her shirt and Emma noticed the pleasantly red flush to Regina’s skin at the edge of the silk collar. 

“Magic works differently here, right?” Emma asked. It was more of a tease than a taunt but the tone still carried that oh so familiar intimacy between them. Emma ducked her head to hide her smile from Regina before she turned to leave, muttering ‘don’t look back’ over and over just under her breath as she headed down the path.

Back at the apartment Emma found Snow waiting with a mug of hot chocolate in her hands. The moment Emma had her coat hung up Snow passed the mug to her and then stretched up onto her toes to tug the knitted hat from Emma’s head, smoothing her blonde hair back down as Emma took a sip.

They moved to the table where another cup waited for Snow, the chocolate dusted whipped cream already gone from hers. They took seats across from each other and Snow wrapped both hands around her mug, lacing her fingers together. 

“You made the delivery I see.” 

It sounded innocent enough but even though Emma had obviously returned empty handed she felt certain Snow had some kind of mom- magic that let her know far more happened on Regina’s porch. Between sips of her drink Emma simply nodded. If she did share any details with Snow it would definitely take a few shots first to pry them from her. She couldn’t hold back a slight smile though.

“And did you find what you were looking for?” Snow asked coyly, raising her own cup.

Given how protective Emma had learned to be of her feelings perhaps it was a good thing her mom seemed able to read her mind. It was a downright sneaky trick though.

For the first time since her return Emma noticed the apartment was calmer than when she had left. Charming and Henry had a movie playing in the corner of the room but the sound was almost muted and they may even have both been asleep where they snuggled beneath a shared blanket on the couch. The fairy lights had been switched to a soft pulse rather than a manic chase and the window at the far end of the room was opened a crack letting a fresh cold snap cut through the sugary-sweetness of the air. 

To Emma it felt like a balance had returned, inside and out.

“I think so.”


End file.
